This course is also offered in Spanish. For more information, click here. (Este curso también se ofrece en español. Para más información, haz clic aquí.)

About the Course

How does climate change impact the health of humans, animals, and the environment?
As the “biggest health threat facing humanity,” climate change is already changing people’s lives, as well as animal habitats and environments. In different countries and regions of the planet, surging health problems pose challenges to health care providers, policy makers, and governance. Such health challenges are linked to the decay of natural habitats and frequent occurrence of catastrophic weather events. Some examples of climate change-related health issues are the emergence of new pathogens and infectious diseases, heat exposure, respiratory problems, malnutrition and mental health issues. These are already affecting most global populations and will continue to do so in the future, calling for holistic forms of mitigation, control, and prevention on local, regional and global levels.

How can the One Health approach contribute to mitigating and preventing the health impacts of climate change?
The present course will introduce you to the connections between climate change and health through the One Health approach. The content material provides a framework to understand the basic mechanisms of climate change and the extent of its impacts on human and animal health, identifying the connection between planetary challenges and local threats. Role-playing exercises encourage the practice of thinking systemically, adopting holistic perspectives, and working with creativity and collaboration to find immediate and long-term solutions.

Content and Requirements

The One Health and Climate Change course consists of a blended learning system, including synchronous and asynchronous units.

In the asynchronous sessions, the participants will be led through the basic mechanisms of climate change, and the consequent health impacts on different environments, as well as the theoretical framework of the One Health approach through self-study with interactive elements on the Moodle platform. Participants will also see illustrative examples of how One Health can contribute to climate change solutions.

During the synchronous sessions, participants will meet online via Zoom and work together to solve a climate change-related health problem using the One Health approach. The main course assignment is designed as a game in which participants take part in role-playing activities to reflect on different levels of impact, responsibility, and engagement, to then propose unique and adequate solutions to the given problem. This learning format offers students the opportunity to think in a holistic and innovative way, encouraging the development of specificity and creativity necessary to deal with the challenges of climate change.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the module, participants are expected to:

• understand the basic mechanisms of climate change and its environmental impacts on the planet;
• understand the One Health approach, its definitions, history, and current discourses;
• understand the relationships between climate change and global health problems and explain the dimensions of impacts on human, animal, and environmental health systems;
• develop One Health solutions to climate change-related health problems and plan their implementation.

Target Group

The course is designed for professionals, students, and docents of Masters/PhD or equivalent programs (e.g. completed preliminary examination) in disciplines such as:

• Human Health (human medicine, nursing, public health, epidemiology);
• Animal Health (veterinary medicine, agricultural studies);
• Environmental Studies (ecology, wildlife studies, sustainability), and
• Social Studies (anthropology, economics, geography, sociology).

Learning Concept

Online, blended learning with synchronous and asynchronous sessions, using Moodle and Zoom plaforms.

Duration, Credits, Schedule and Dates

The module lasts 10 weeks, and is designed for 90 working hours, including 30h working with online material and meetings and around 60h of self-study and project work. The course offers 3 ECTS (needs to be approved by the student's home institution) and will be offered from January 6, 2025 to March 21, 2025.

Language

The One Health and Climate Change course is offered in English.

For more information about the Spanish course, Enfoque Una Salud y Cambio Climático, click here.

Registration

Registration is now open. Click here to register for this course before December 20, 2024.

Contact

For more information, please contact osh-munich@lrz.uni-muenchen.de